Improvement in door-plates and indicators



T. M. et. w; F. Tom.

Door-Plains and lwlldicatnrs.

Patented April 1, 1873.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THEABOLD M. TOBIN AND WILLIS F. TOBIN, OF MIDDLEBUBY, VEB-MONT.

IMPROVEMENT IN DOOR-PLATES AND INDICATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 137,50, dated April 1,1873; application filed March 10, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THEABOLD M. ToBrN and WILLIS F. TOBIN, of Middlebury, in the county of Addison and State of Vermont, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oliice-Director and Name-Plate 5 and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,

l and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The nature of our invention consists in the construction and arrangement of a door-plate and indicator, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which our invention appert'ains to inake and use'the same, we will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring ,to the annexed drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section, and Fig. 2 a front view, of our invention.

A represents a plate of any suitable dimensions, upon which are two parallel standards, B B, having their upper ends forked to receive and form bearings for a shaft, C. Upon this shaft is secured a hollow cylinder, D, of

u,sheet-metal or other suitable material, having one of its heads, a, placed within the cylinder a suitable distance from the end, 0r, in other Words, the cylinder extends a suitable distance beyond one of its heads. 0n this end of the shaft C is placed a spiral spring, b, with one end bearing against the outer side of the head a, and the other end attached to a washer, d, which bears against the inner side of the standard B at that end of the cylinder.

By this means sufficient friction is obtained to hold the cylinder at any point desired without liabilitylof its turning accidentally. g

Other equivalent devices may be used for this purpose, and hence we do not confine ourselves, exclusively, to the one herein described.

O11 the outer surface of the cylinder D is pasted paper with the name of the party occupying the premises where our invention is used, and also such short notices as back soon, gone to dinner, at courthouse,7 or others of similar character that will indicate the whereabouts ofthe owner. These notices and name may be painted on the cylinder, or in any other suitable manner aflixed to the same. and cylinder are then inclosed in a semicylindrical case, E, the plate A fitting in the back of the same, and said case provided with suitable flanges or projections, through which screws are to pass to fasten the device to the door. In one end of the case E is an opening for the insertion of a key, which is to tit on the end of the shaft C, and by means of which the shaft and cylinder are readily revolved.

In front of the case E is a glass-covered open-- ing, e, of the same length as the cylinder, and of such width that either of the notices may be seen through the same.

When the owner leaves his office he turns the cylinder until the desired notice is exposed to view; and when he returns he revolves it again until the name appears, the spring b or equivalent device holding the cylinder in the desired position.

l Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The cylinder D, provided with suitable notices and name, as described, in combination with the spring b or its equivalent, and supported by its shaft in standards B on the plate A, for the purposes herein set forth.

2. The combination of the supports A B, shaft C, cylinder D, and case E with glasscovered opening e, all the parts being constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

In testimony that We claim the foregoing as our' own we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

' THEABOLD M. TOBIN.

WILLIS F. TOBIN. Witnesses:

LYMAN E. KNAPP, GARDNER S. WAINWRIGHT.

The base-plate A with the standards i 

